Based on the time series of VIIRS night-time light remote sensing images, this study analyzed the spatial and temporal patterns of urban development in Western Taiwan Straits Economic Zone (WTSEZ) at prefecture-level and county-level from 2012 to 2019, by utilizing a spatial statistics method, rank-size distribution method, and the Night-time Light Development Index (NLDI). Study results show that from 2012 to 2019, the total amount of night time light in WTSEZ presents an unbalanced distribution of higher level in coastal areas and lower level in inland areas, while the growth rate of night time light in inland areas is more significant than that in coastal areas. According to the result of the rank-size distribution analysis, the city sizes of the top cities both at prefecture-level and at county-level are gradually increasing. The Zipf index of prefecture-level remains around 0.95, whereas the Zipf index at county-level shows a trend of gradual decrease. The development among cities is becoming more balanced. According to the analysis of NLDI, the night-time light levels are gradually becoming proportional to the population distribution levels in WTSEZ, and the NLDI of coastal cities, especially in Shantou and Jieyang, decreases more pronouncedly than that of inland cities. There is a balanced development trend within each city. All above show that in the future development planning, it is necessary to take a full consideration of the regional and ecological advantages and disadvantages of WTSEZ, so as to promote the coordinated development of coastal and inland areas; to strengthen intercity transportation, so as to promote the integration of regional development; and to further explore the developing potential of eastern GuangdongHongkong-Macao region, so as to accelerate communication between urban agglomerations and inject new external forces into WTSEZ.
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